With the final weekend of official campaigning for the June 3 local elections approaching, the People Power Party (PPP), engaged in a fierce uphill battle, is attempting to rally conservative voters by bringing in former Presidents Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak. The Democratic Party of Korea, seeking to maintain its favorable momentum, is mobilizing its leadership for campaigning centered on closely contested races.
According to political circles on the 29th, former President Park will visit Seomun Market in Jung-gu, Daegu, and Suseong Lake in Suseong-gu on the 31st, together with Choo Kyung-ho, the PPP's Daegu mayoral candidate, to meet with citizens. This comes eight days after she visited Chilseong Market in Buk-gu, Daegu, on the 23rd for a campaign appearance. Choo's camp believes it has recently overtaken Democratic Party candidate Kim Boo-kyum, or has narrowed the gap to a tight race within the margin of error. Park visited Namhae in South Gyeongsang Province that day to support local candidates there. Looking at the Namhae Bridge, she remarked that it was "a place connected to a bond my father created."
In Busan, former President Lee is stepping in to provide support. The camp of Park Heong-jun, the PPP's Busan mayoral candidate, said, "Former President Lee will visit Busan on the 31st and declare his support for candidate Park." Lee will attend worship together with candidate Park at Suyeongno Church located in Haeundae-gu, Busan. Park's camp argued, "Following former President Park's visit on the 27th, the fact that former President Lee is now standing beside candidate Park shows that he is the right person to unify and rebuild a divided conservative camp."
PPP candidates believe that while support from the two former presidents will not greatly help expand their reach among moderate voters, it will be effective in rallying the conservative base. Since the recent surge by PPP candidates late in the race has stemmed from the consolidation of conservative voters, the aim is to sustain this momentum.
The Democratic Party fiercely criticized the moves by the former presidents in an effort to check them. Jung Chung-rae, the Democratic Party leader, raised his voice during campaign stops in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, and Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province, that day, saying, "The prison trio is running wild," and citing "Park Geun-hye, impeached over state affairs interference and the candlelight revolution; Lee Myung-bak, who served time in prison for corruption; and insurrection ringleader Yoon Suk-yeol."
The leadership of both parties, viewing major electoral districts nationwide as increasingly entering tight, neck-and-neck contests in the final stretch, plans to consolidate their support bases through nationwide campaign blitzes. For the Democratic Party, "defending its strongholds" has emerged as the top priority. Leader Jung will visit South Jeolla Province, a stronghold thrown into disarray by the surge of the Rebuilding Korea Party in basic-level municipal head elections, on the 30th for a campaign appearance. He will also return on the 1st of next month to North Jeolla Province, where an alarm has been raised by the strong showing of independent candidate Kim Kwan-yong. Han Byung-do, the Democratic Party floor leader whose constituency is Iksan in North Jeolla Province, has been practically living in the province to appeal to voters. Cho Seung-rae, head of the Democratic Party's general election strategy headquarters, reportedly summoned all North Jeolla candidates late at night on the 28th to urge support for Lee Won-taek, the candidate for North Jeolla governor. On the 31st, Jung will visit North Chungcheong Province to once again court the central region, which holds the casting vote.
Jang Dong-hyuk, the PPP leader, will visit on the 30th the site of the Chuncheon-Sokcho East-West high-speed railway project, where PPP Gangwon gubernatorial candidate Kim Jin-tae and Democratic Party candidate Woo Sang-ho have been exchanging accusations of spreading false information, to support candidate Kim.
